Smith, Babin Examine Policy Governing Indian Launch Vehicles “Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and Space Subcommittee Chairman Brian Babin (R-Texas) yesterday sent letters to four senior officials following up on requests for information about the current U.S. policy governing the export of U.S. commercial satellites for launch on Indian launch vehicles. On July 6 Chairmen Smith and Babin wrote Director of Office of Science and Technology […]

Congress Asks Questions About U.S. Policy Regarding Indian Launch Vehicles, House Science, Space, and Technology Committee “Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and Space Subcommittee Chairman Brian Babin (R-Texas) today sent letters to four senior officials requesting information about the current U.S. policy governing the export of U.S. commercial satellites for launch on Indian launch vehicles. … The letters request a written copy of the administration’s policy […]

Keith’s note: This TV commercial is titled “Astronaut lachaar, khatam hua aachar”. You have to watch the entire thing to figure out what it is selling. Its hilarious.

US’ Private Space Industry Opposes Use Of ISRO Launch Vehicles, NDTV “I think the concern about using Indian boosters is not so much the transfer of sensitive technology to a nation that is a fellow democracy, but rather whether the Indian launches are subsidised by the government to a degree that other market actors would be priced out of the market,” Elliot Holokauahi Pulham, CEO of Space Foundation, said. Testifying […]

Will ISRO Participate in the International Space Station?, The Wire “From a partner-country perspective, let’s take the example of Japan. The annual running costs for the Japanese Experiment Module will be totally around $350-400 million (almost half of ISRO’s annual budget). Which means that if India has to participate meaningfully and do some interesting science, ISRO will need an almost 50% hike (to Rs.3,500 crore) in its budget. Although this […]

India’s Mars Orbiter Sends Back Its First Images “India’s Mars Orbiter Spacecraft has captured its first image of Mars. The image was taken from a height of 7300 km; with 376 m spatial resolution. Another image shows the limb of Mars.” India becomes first Asian nation to reach Mars orbit, joins elite global space club, Washington Post “By comparison, India’s $72 million Mars orbiter is the cheapest interplanetary mission ever. […]

India’s Mars Orbiter Spacecraft Enters Mars Orbit (with video) “India successfully placed its Mars Orbiter Mission spacecraft into orbit around Mars this evening – and in so doing it became the first nation to put something into Mars orbit on its very first attempt.”

NASA Needs an Indian Tutorial, Bloomberg Review “What can the U.S. space program learn from the Indian one? Not much, if the standard is outer-space achievement: India’s modest record mostly includes feats the U.S. accomplished decades ago. But if the standard is having a clear vision of what you want to accomplish — and getting that done quickly and economically, there might be a lesson or two. Consider the speech […]

Mars mission cost citizen less than BEST bus fare, Times of India “How much did the Rs 450-crore India’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) cost an individual? Believe it or not it is less than the minimum BEST bus fare. While the minimum fare is Rs 6, each Indian on the other hand has spent just Rs four for the Mars mission. This unbelievable fact that the mission cost each citizen […]

Mars Orbiter Spacecraft Successfully Placed in Mars Transfer Trajectory “The critical manoeuvre to place India’s Mars Orbiter Spacecraft in the Mars Transfer Trajectory was successfully carried out in the early hours of today (Sunday, December 1, 2013). The spacecraft is now on a course to encounter Mars after a journey of about 10 months around the Sun.”